The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-11-08
NOW AND THEN.

The popularity about the petition for
amnesty signed by Spies, Schwab and Fielden
is that it was not petition for amnesty at
all. There was no confession of wrong
doing, nor supplication for mercy. 1t was
simply a denial of all charges, defense of
their course, and a justification of all they
had said and done. Read between the lines
assertion of Anarchist principles The only
approach to even an apology was this: elf,
in the excitement of propagating our views,
we were led into expressions which caused
was proper instrument of reform, we regret
it." It has been so long since the Hay
market murders-more than a year and a
half-and since the trial of the Anarchists
that the public may have forgotten how they
.'propagated their views" They seem to
have partially forgotten themselves, for they
imply doubt whether they ever did say
anything at all improper. Let Us see.
AT a mass meeting in Chicago, April &c,
1886, Schwab said: Everywhere police and
ingmen. For every workingman who has
died through the pistol of deputy sheriff let
ten of these executioners fall" This was a
week before the Haymarket meeting and was
direct instigation to violence. At meeting
in April, 1885, Parsons said: 1.-THE only way
to convince these capitalists and robbers is to
use the gun and dynamite" Again, in July,
1885, at a public meeting he advised his
hearers to purchase rifles; eff they had not
money enough to buy rifles, to buy pistols,
and If they could not buy pistols. they could
buy enough dynamite for twenty five cents to
blow up the Pullman building" March %,
1885, Fielden said at public meeting:
every one of you must learn the use of
dynamite, for that is the power with which
we hope to gain our rights" Again he said:
"The existing order of society should be
destroyed, annihilated, and as no other
redress could be had peaceably, they were
said: "Tbose who could not arm themselves
and who could not buy revolvers should buy
dynamite; it was very cheap and easily ham
died." Parsons said in his paper: Dynamite
is the emancipation; hail to the deliverer,
dynamite!" And again: Dynamite! Of all
the good stuff. this is the stuff. A pound of
this good stuff beats bushel of ballots all
hollow" And in another issue: "Assassina-
ton properly applied is wise, just, humane
and brave" Three days before the Haymar-
ket meeting Spies's paper said: "Clean your
guns, complete your ammunition. The
hired murderers of the capitalists, the police
and militia, are ready to murder. No work.
ingman should leave his house in these days
taken at random. Many more might be add
ed. all breathing the same deadly purpose,
counseling and advising murder After spend
ing months in making these infammatory APP
peals, and in planning and plotting violence.
their efforts finally eliminated in the Hay |
market massacre. Yet, in view of the facts |
and the record. the miscreants have the au- |
dacity to imply a doubt whether they had |
ever said anything ''to cause workingmen to |
think that aggressive force was a proper in |
strument of reform" They are so innocent |
and unsophisticated that they did not know |
dynamite was an aggressive force. They were |
only propagating their views, forsooth, and
laboring in the cause of humanity. Yet all !
these incendiary utterances and instigations to
murder might have passed UNDECIDED, like the |
idle barking of SO many dogs, had they not |
led to the Haymarket assassination, and had |
not facts proved beyond doubt the moral and
legal responsibility of the Anarchist leaders
for that bloody affair. They planned the
murder, advised its execution, and. if they
did not personally assist, they melted others
to do it. Let them suffer the penalty.